Students with Dyslexia and Learning Disabilities Need a Better Education, Not Just More Testing

Patricia Levesque, former deputy chief of staff for education under Gov. Jeb Bush, is the chief executive officer of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of education for all students.

For Florida students with a specific learning disability, most of whom have dyslexia, the evidence is quite damning for the present system:

– 89% of the 3rd graders with a specific learning disability failed the 3rd grade reading FCAT last year

– The trend is neither up nor down — and the commissioner sees no reason to do anything differently for students with learning disabilities or dyslexia

– The trend is likely to get much worse this year with the new Florida Standards Assessments. We expect 93 to 97% of the students with a specific learning disability to be below grade level and 75 to 80% of the students would have scored low enough to bring third grade retention into play — but the state has chosen to limit the damage this year — beware in 2016

Five Reasons Testing Has Not Helped Students with Learning Disabilities and Dyslexia

The RTI Trap has kept a number from getting the help they need early enough to succeed by 3rd grade. Many are identified in 3rd grade and we suspect an even greater amount are not identified before 4th grade. We have developed a webpage to explain the challenges and to help parents to expedite the identification process — go to The RTI Trap

There has been some focus on Third Grade Retention, but precious little on Success by Third Grade. We have written a book on this subject you can download at our Success by Third Grade page

Third, teacher training has been too little too late

Fourth, the new Florida State Standards and 3rd Grade Reading Florida Standards Assessment are much harder than their predecessors

Fifth, parents have too often relied on schools to help their child with learning disabilities or dyslexia to help their child.

How Parents Can Make The Difference for Your Child with Learning Disabilities or Dyslexia

Mindset matters. Like us, you need to recognize that your child’s success is in your hands. We recommend deciding that Success is the Only Option

Understand your child’s present level of reading comprehension, how your child learns best and where your child struggles. There is a sharp difference between dyslexia and right-brain dyslexia. With right-brain dyslexia, your child first needs to understand the frequently used words mean and how to recognize words previously seen and not mastered. This drives who to work with

Goal set for success

Start looking for a partner who has a solid track record of helping students like your child succeed.